The Spanish were the first Europeans to document voyages along the Pacific Northwest Coast. Using established Spanish colonies in Mexico as a springboard, they were able to reach the Northwest coast much more easily than the English or the French.
Spanish ships with Mexican crews made twelve voyages of exploration during the 1700s. Some of those expeditions performed symbolic acts of possession on behalf of the Spanish king; others were sent out to defend Spanish claims against European rivals; still others were scientific expeditions. The Spanish also mapped the coastline and named prominent features such as the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Bucareli Bay, Valdés and Cordoba. Over time many of the Spanish place names have been superseded by English.
The Spanish originally named the area Territorio de Nutka and claimed it as a possession of the king of Spain. It remained nominally a Spanish possession until 1819 when the United States and Spain signed the Adam-Onis Treaty.
In 1774 Juan Perez Hernandez accepted a secret mission from the King of Spain: to map the northern reaches of the Pacific Coast, formally claim the territory for Spain, and to establish good relations with the native inhabitants.
Perez had limited sucess. His crew did explore and map as far north as the Alaska panhandle, but they were unable to go ashore because the landing parties were repeatedly attacked. Finally, in an effort to improve relations with the natives, Perez invited them aboard the ship to trade and talk. It was during this exchange of trade goods that a pivotal event took place. At some point while the native guests were making their historic visit on board, a pair of silver spoons belonging to second pilot Martinez were either traded or pilfered. Because Perez had failed to send a party on land to officially take possession of the region, those spoons later became evidence supporting Spanish claims of prior discovery.
The state of Washington owes a great deal to Perez and his mostly Mexican crew. If it had not been for the two spoons traded with the Indians at Nootka, the international border now between Canada and Washington would have been located at the Columbia River, as the English insisted based on James Cook's later discoveries.
